Weeds, rock snot, and lionfish: a menu for 'invasivores'

Add some rock snot algae to your lionfish and eat up.Photo: PanduhThe New York Times just featured five posts on sustainability, with one on the latest trend in sustainable food: eating invasive species. “Vegans, freegans, locavores — meet the invasivores,” wrote James Gorman.

The idea is to chow down on species that don’t belong where they are, or damage their ecosystems (like kudzu and Asian carp). So what should you put on your plate? Here’s a hypothetical menu for an invasivore:

Appetizer: Lionfish ceviche. The invasive fish with “delicate, white flesh” (aka “Kentucky tuna”) has garnered the attention of everyone from Florida divers to Chicago chefs. Toss in some didymo, also known as “rock snot algae,” for bonus points. Yummers.

Entrée: Stir-fried starling and weeds. Channel your inner Dwight Schrute and cook up some pigeon! Times food writer Mark Bittman recommends stir-fry as one of three basic meals everyone should know how to cook (it’s “lightning fast,” he writes). Pair with some wild greens like field mustard or turnip mustard. Because a weed is just a plant out of place, amirite?